Atheist Assistant Has Military Chaplain's Back

A rousing dual profile
in The Wall Street Journal looks at the war effort in Afghanistan
through the eyes of devout military chaplain Terry Moran and his atheist
assistant Philip Chute: a pair that roams the Taliban countryside
debating with each other "over everything from the power of angels to
the wisdom of standing in clear view of enemy snipers." But like any odd
couple, their theological differences seem to ensure that they make for
a surprisingly complementary team:

Lt. Moran, 48 years old, preaches about divine protection while
25-year-old RP2 Chute covers the chaplain's back and wishes he were more
attentive to the dangers of the here and now. ...

It wasn't always a
particularly easy match-up for the pair, as Chaplain Moran recalled to
the Journal. He remembers the first day Chute dropped the "A-bomb."

Appalled,
Lt. Moran contacted his fellow chaplains. He says he was simply seeking
counsel about whether atheists can really be chaplain's assistants. RP2
Chute is convinced Lt. Moran was trying to trade him in for a believer.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.

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